Realised, I was never going to be someone like Sehwag or Sachin: Rahul Dravid on his successful career

Former India captain Rahul Dravid recently opened up on his successful career for the Indian team and revealed how learning to switch off from the game mentally helped him perform much better throughout his career. One of the best batters to have played for India, Dravid enjoyed a legendary career at the international level and troubled some of the most prominent bowlers with his incredible defensive technique.

Famously known as 'The Wall' for his ability to frustrate even the best of bowlers with his astute defensive skills, Dravid was a mainstay in India's batting line-up across formats throughout his international career. Dravid, who could bat for hours and hours in the middle, explained how switching off from the game was as important for him as spending extra hours in the gym or practice sessions.

"If I look back at my career, that (channelising the energy) was a game-changer. I was really able to channel my mental energy. I used to spend a lot of energy even when I was not playing thinking about my game, worrying about it, and reflecting on it. In time I learned that was not necessarily helping my batting. I needed to refresh and almost find a life outside of cricket," Dravid told Abhinav Bindra on his podcast 'In the Zone'.

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Dravid explained it was after three-four years after he started his career that he realised the extra burden of thinking about the game when not playing was not helping his cause at all. The former India captain also pointed out how he was not someone like his former teammate Virender Sehwag, who found it easy to switch off due to his personality.

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"Honestly, I was never going to be like Viru (Virender Sehwag). He found it much easier to switch off because of his personality. I was never going to get to that level. But I started recognising the red flags, I realised when I was getting too intense. I knew I needed to find a way to switch it off but it was the mental side of the thing that you need to help yourself," Dravid said on the podcast.

"It came down to you recognising that this was as important to you as those extra hours in the gym and practice sessions. If you did all of that but were unable to switch off mentally, you are not gonna have enough energy to play the game. Once I start recognising that three or four years in my career, I started to make an effort to switch off a lot more and it helped me a lot," he added.

Opening up on his successful career, Dravid said he had realised pretty early that he was not someone who could score quick runs and enjoyed his duel with the bowlers. Known for his ability to counter the best of bowling attacks with his defensive prowess, Dravid would often go without scoring runs for a number of deliveries in Test matches.

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However, his superior technique and grit meant the bowlers would fail to get past his defence. Dravid said he used to treat his duel with bowlers as a one-on-one contest which helped him increase his concentration while batting.

"As my career progressed, I realised, I was never gonna be someone who will be scoring quickly like a Sehwag did or maybe to an extent as Sachin did. I was always going to need patience. I loved that contest between me and the bowler, sort of tried to make it a one-on-one contest. I found that help me concentrate a bit more," Dravid expained.